King Rider would have been a foolish man had he not made his own alliances in this game of wars.
He stood in a long palace room, with a large oval-shaped table stretching across the vast room.
He found no reason for him to be sitting on the farthest side of the table from the leader of the church of Eleanor.
It was already difficult to hear the lead priest because of his quiet voice, but Rider found only inconvenience in such a stupid portrayal of meetings.
"Is this necessary?!"
Rider yelled from across the room.
The ancient man wrapped in fine silks and a wizard hat atop his head, leaned far to his right, almost as if he was about to crumble into a pile of dust.
Rider frowned.
He pushed himself up from the arms of the wooden chairs, and Picto put a hand on his shoulder, but the king brushed it away.
"Sir I don't think that is wise..."
He whispered, much to Rider's annoyance.
Ignoring his general, and the countless golden ethereal knights standing nine meters tall along the walls of the room, he slowly made his way over to the lead priest.
Lifting his heavy eyebrows, the old man smirked.
Rider would have been a liar had he said he wasn't worried about letting the child of death live... However, he would have been quite happy had that boy been his only threat.
There lie a kingdom on the west of the continent, where a single king had gained the power over dreams.
His name was King Mare, and Rider's half brother who had inherited the same house title as his own.
If Mare chose to get involved in Rider's conquest, the king of the East would only find defeat against his own brother.
Which is why Rider had to ally with unconventional factions.
"Sir Dianestus... I ask that I have your church's aid in the coming war..."
As Rider walked closer, one of the golden knights twitched, causing Rider to inwardly reach for the handle of his glaive that rested within his catalyst; however, much to Rider's surprise, Dianestus lifted a hand in the air.
"R-Rest easy solider... This man has no ill intentions..."
Rider bowed before the priest.
"Thank you for your trust."
The old man's grin grew wider.
"However, I cannot ignore your heinous crimes against the twelve kingdoms... I am no fool, Rider of House Night..."
Rider's eyebrow twitched.
"You slayed a Paladin where he stood, even though he held no violence against your own being, and you defied the laws of the natural beings... As well as embedding yourself in corruptions grasp. You are a foolish and ambitious man Rider."
The man's voice was deep and cracked, like the ancient being he was.
The truth about immortality in this world was that it was more of a curse than it was a blessing, at least for beings of true power.
It took a large sacrifice to remain youthful, which was why it was considered a dark art to achieve true immortality; however, it was truly impossible to achieve such a feat, even if increasing your output could grant you unhuman attributes... Youth was truly an impossible endeavor.
Which is why Rider was extremely hesitant in the face of such a powerful force.
Although the lead priest had no youth left in his bones, there was no reason why such a force should have this much influence on the world at the age that he was.
"Forgive me for my sins... But I was guided by a foolish seer. She is now locked within my dungeon and cannot influence me anymore..."
The man snickered.
"Perhaps I should be glorifying your seer then..."
Rider flinched.
"E-Excuse me?"
The man continued to a chuckle a dry and terrifying laugh.
"Lord Rider, I would gladly aid you in this fool's war, that is... If you fund my research, which I would be happy to show you."
Rider hesitated but then nodded only moments later.
"Of course!"
The old man's body cracked and groaned as he stood on his feet and lifted his wrinkled head.
Looking into the man's golden eyes brought nothing but dread upon Rider's being.
'What a terrible force...'
Which was saying a lot, considering the sins that Rider has committed within his life.
"Come with me boy..."
The man croaked as he started to walk toward the wall behind his chair.
Rider cocked an eyebrow as he hesitantly followed behind the priest.
Then the old man lifted his palm against the stone wall that towered in front of them.
With a hefty breath, a faint yellow light started to flow through the cracks in the wall, as the wall shift and dissipate.
Where the center of the wall once stood, was only left behind with a dimly lit hallway.
"Come with me... And I will make you a true heir for the Paladin throne..."
Dianestus joyfully croaked as he started down the hallway.
"Oh! But your general may not come with you, I trust that if something were to happen, you would be more than sufficient enough to handle it on your own..."
"S-sir?"
Picto said hesitantly from behind Rider's shoulder.
"You heard him, stay put..."
Rider did not care enough to look the failure of a general in the eyes, as he followed the lead priest down the hallway.
...
As they walked down the dark hallway alone, Rider chose not to speak unless spoken too.
"Do you know why we have churches King Rider?"
The man said, as Rider looked curiously at the hunched shoulders of the ancient man in front of him.
"Because the god's protection aids us from the higher being's influence?"
The man boomed with laughter at Rider's response, causing his face to flush red.
"You are an interesting specimen Rider! But you are wrong, that is just what we tell people. If everyone had free will then Orion would have ended up being correct about humanity evolving with time!"
Rider flinched at the mention of such an ancient being.
"Y-you mean...?"
The man nodded.
"Yes..."
Rider almost stopped in his tracks.
"We follow gods because the churches have removed the free will of humans, elves, dwarves, goblins, etc. We are all sentient creatures who have shackled each other so that the rich may reign eternally. Hence why I am so powerful..."
Rider could not believe the man.
"So... Religions are a lie?"
The old man laughed again as he turned a dark corner.
"Not necessarily... When a lesser god or goddess gains believers, every prayer grants them strength. But... They do not aid us mortals, which most of the older gods are aware of, because we humans have outsmarted their influence, now they are eternally trapped at the bottom of the hierarchy."
Rider raised an eyebrow as a bright room lit up the distant end of the hall.
"What do you mean?"
The old man took a deep cracked breath.
"Once upon a time, Prometheus, the lesser god of life struck a deal with my father, that the gods do not interfere with humans directly."
Rider opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off.
"You are going to ask what is stopping him from breaking such a vow?"
Rider nodded even though the man was ahead of him and not bothering to look behind him.
"Because... It is the vow of death, and only death can break such a vow."
As they entered a large circular room, glass tubes filled with dead creatures filled every nook and cranny of the room.
Rider felt fear as he seen a terribly grotesque humanoid creature laying on a small rectangular table at the center of the room.
"These are my babies... Eleanor is the greater goddess of life... And so I have followed in her footsteps and have finally learned to create life out of nothing. I HAVE BROKEN THE LAW OF EQUIVELANT EXCHANGE!"
the old man boomed with laughter as he threw his arms in the air.
For the first time since he was a child, Rider finally found himself feeling far out of his own league.